It's All Underneath
by Artist2519
Summary: Sequel to Friends From Afar. What happans when Racetrack and the new girl keep dissappearing? Cutchy and Race's goil are gonna find out. Chap.7 is up! Dont forget to R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: None of theses characters belong to me (with the exception of Artist). They all belong to either Disney or other creators who have kindly allowed me to use their characters  
  
"Extra, Extra! Italians to take over America!" Crutchy hawked the headline as he walked through the dirty, New York streets. He glanced at the headline again. 'Italians overstuffing houses!' He smiled to himself. 'Improving the truth' as Jack called it, was always something fun to do, even if it was work.  
  
A gentleman obviously late for work, bought Crutchy's last paper and scurried off. Crutchy rolled up his sleeves and wiped his sweaty brow. He had been selling all morning. It was midday now, and by now, very hot. He checked the pocket watch Race had given him for Christmas last year. It was 11:30.  
  
'Good,' he thought. 'It'll give me some time to rest before the afternoon edition.' He started to head towards Central Park, humming to himself. He entered the park and was relieved to find it was somewhat cooler than on the streets. The trees blocked the sun from hitting him directly and he was glad to escape from some of the extreme heat. He continued to walk, thinking vaguely of the pocket watch Racetrack had given him for Christmas last year. Newsies did not often exchange gifts with each other for anything unless it was for a special friend. Racetrack and Crutchy had never been particularly close to Racetrack until the previous summer, during which they had learned they were former best friends.  
  
'I can't believe we didn't realize sooner,' he thought. 'It's so strange. I'm glad it happened though.' He headed towards his favorite bench. The only trouble was there was already someone sitting there.  
  
It was a girl. She was petite and looked short, though it was difficult to tell when she was sitting down. She had shiny, curly, auburn hair that reached just below her shoulders, topped with a black newsboy hat. She was writing on what appeared to be a notepad. As he got closer he realized that she wasn't writing. She was drawing on a, a... a stack of napkins. Crutchy walked closer until he was standing right next to the girl sitting on the bench. She was so absorbed in her sketching, she didn't notice a thing. He watched as her hand flew up and down the paper, making long strokes and quick jabs. The drawing itself was incredible. It was an exact replica of Central Park on paper.  
  
Crutchy stared in amazement. "Dat's a real nice picture you'se is drawin'."  
  
The girl started. "Holy jabs!" She dropped her stack of napkins and they went everywhere. He bent down to help her pick them up. She looked at Crutchy. Her hazel eyes were bright and warm and her face was dotted with freckles. "Thanks," she said, after all the napkins were in her hand once more. "Ya scared me dere."  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean ta," he apologized quickly. "I'se was jus' sayin' your drawin' was nice."  
  
She blushed and smiled. "I didn' know anyone was watchin'," she said, embarrassingly. Her voice was light and airy with a slight New York accent.  
  
Crutchy smiled. "Is dere any, uh, particular reason you'se is drawin' on napkins?"  
  
She laughed. "You t'ink I can afford a real sketchpad? Ya, right." She snorted. "Anyway, paper's expensive. The only paper I ever get is newspaper."  
  
"Are you a newsy?" Crutchy asked. "I never seen ya round here before."  
  
She nodded. "I ain't from around here. I just came from Queens. I been lookin' for somebody. By da way, do ya know where da Lodgin' House is aroun' here?"  
  
"A coise I do," said Crutchy. "I stay dere. I could take you dere if ya like."  
  
"Dat'd be great," she said smiling again. She stood up. She was very short, about 5'2.  
  
"How old are you?" he asked, eyeing her height.  
  
"Fifteen," she said and when Crutchy looked skeptical, she added, "Really. I'se is just short for my age. It's good sellin' papes though." She laughed. "I'm Artist," she said sticking out her hand.  
  
Crutchy shook it. "Crutchy," he said to introduce himself, also smiling. "Here, follow me, I'll show ya da Lodgin' House.  
  
They started walking out of the park together, still talking.  
  
"So who ya lookin' for anyway?" Crutchy asked.  
  
"My cousin," she answered. "Travis O'Brian. You ever hoid of him?"  
  
Crutchy shook his head, thinking. "I don't know everybody's real name though. We could ask Kloppman if he has a list a' da names."  
  
"Alright, thanks."  
  
They came to the Lodging House door and entered. Kloppman looked up from the papers on his desk as they walked in.  
  
"Heya Kloppman," said Crutchy. "Dis here's Artist. She's lookin fer her cousin. You got a list a' everybody's real name 'er something she can check?"  
  
Kloppman nodded and opened one of the drawers stacked by the wall. He picked out a sheet after searching through a couple of files. "Here ya go," he said gruffly, handing it to Crutchy.  
  
Crutchy looked down the list of boys, Artist reading next to him.  
  
Boys Residents of the Lodging House:  
  
Acklin, Andrew/ Mush  
  
Barrett, James/ Pie Eater  
  
Bayus, Dominic/ Bumlets  
  
Crason, Ryan/ Blink  
  
Divis, Sean/ Specs  
  
Franklin, Joshua/ Itey  
  
Higgins, Anthony/ Racetrack  
  
Morgan, Michael/ Snotty  
  
Morris, Christopher/ Crutchy  
  
Morton, Earnest/ Boots  
  
Whalen, Alexander/ Snipeshooter  
  
True names unknown: Skittery  
  
Crutchy skimmed through the list quickly. "Doesn' look like he's here."  
  
Artist shrugged. "Guess not." She took the the paperand looked through it again. "Hold on," she said, frowning. "Higgins is here? Race Higgins?"  
  
"Ya," said Crutchy. "Ya know him?"  
  
Artist nodded. "I met up with him a long time ago. I used to be his goil."  
  
"Oh," said Crutchy. He felt his stomach drop slightly. He wasn't sure why.  
  
"I guess he has a new goil by now, does he?"  
  
Crutchy turned pink. He was almost embarrassed to tell her. He didn't want her to get angry or anything, especially with him. "Well, uh, yeah, He, he... her name's Pinch."  
  
She shrugged again and handed the list back to Kloppman. Then she turned to Crutchy, "Thanks a lot for everythin'," she said. Then after a moment, "Do you know where I might be able to find Race?"  
  
Crutchy looked at the clock. "He's probably just leavin' Tibby's now. You can catch him now if you hurry. Do you know where it is?"  
  
She nodded. "I remember from when we past it."  
  
"Okay, well den I guess I'll see ya around den."  
  
She smiled. "Ya, maybe. Bye Crutchy."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Crutchy watched her leave, then set out to sell the morning edition, his mind still on her smile.  
  
A/N: Sorry it took so long, but I'm a slow writer, and was very busy. Please forgive me. I like long chappies. Okay, I know what your thinking. No it's not a love story, well it might be a little bit, but overall it's gonna be a mystery. In fact, it's gonna be a lot like my old one, with the flashbacks and the 'I didn't know you did that!' and the whole shebang. Oh ya another thing. It's gonna be LONG. Very LoNG. I already have my plot set up. That reminds me, my casting call. Pinch will be my girl, and Shooter will be my boy. A big thank you to everyone who put in CC. I liked all of 'em, but I thought these 2 could play the parts best. 


	2. Chapter 2

It was late. Crutchy's selling didn't go as quickly as he would have liked it to, but he had finished and he was glad to be getting home. He had gone to Tibby's for some dinner, seeing has he had missed lunch due to his meeting and helping Artist.

_Artist._

His mind had been on her all day. 'Why?' he thought. 'I just met her. I don't know anything about her. What keeps causing me to think of her? What's going on?'

Thoughts continued to race around his mind has he walked on to the Lodging House. He entered swiftly, eager to get in to bed after a long, hard day's work. He said goodnight to Kloppman, who nodded in return, and began to climb the stairs. He opened the door, expecting to see newsies getting ready for bed, maybe a poker game between a couple of them, but overall a quiet room with a bunch of tired boys. What he did not expect to see was a bunch of newsies all sitting together at a table playing cards and talking loudly and happily to each other in a circle (if you could call it that), in which the middle of sat Racetrack, along with-

"Artist!" said Crutchy, bewildered to see her in the Lodging House.

"Hey Crutchy!" shouted Jack's voice from somewhere in the bunch. He stood up to talk to Crutchy over all the noise. "Where ya been?" he asked, once they were far enough from all the noise.

"I was out eatin'," Crutchy explained. "I missed lunch. Anyway, what's goin' on here?"

Jack laughed. "Artist turned up lookin' for Race at Tibby's an' came home wit' us. Race started a poker game an' Artist joined in an' well, she beat him. O'course, he put in all his money soes he's dere tryin' to win it all back, in anot'er few games. I hope he gets his money, but boy, it feel's good ta watch Race get beat fa' once."

Crutchy laughed and walked over to his bed to put his money in to the jar that he kept under his bed. He sat down after he made sure the jar was safely, back under his bed. He moaned softly, rubbing his aching leg. He was so tired. He really just wanted to go to sleep, but he knew the other newsies would think he was trying to get out of something and he didn't want them questioning him about it tomorrow.

He got back up slowly and limped across the room to where the others were watching Race and Artist.

"She's going to beat you again, Racetrack," said Chaos, a Hispanic looking girl with a slight Spanish accent who stayed in the girl's quarters of the Lodging House.

"I don't know," said Bookworm, another of the newsies girls.

"Artist is gonna' pound Race!" said Trolley excitedly. Trolley also stayed in the Lodging House.

Sure enough, Artist beat Racetrack for the seventh time that night. There were cheers and catcalls as Artist stood up to go and talk with the rest of the girls. Crutchy watched her as she joined the giggling group of females.

"Hey," he said suddenly, noticing for the first time. "Where's Pinch?"

"She went to bed early," answered Chaos.

"She said she was tired after watching Race and Artist," piped up Bookworm. "I think she's jealous of Artist. For being with Race, I mean. I heard she was Race's goil before he came here."

"I think there a cute couple," added Trolley, watching them dreamily with misty eyes. "He still flirts with her even."

Crutchy left the girls' to continue gossiping about Race's love life while he headed over to his bed. He had stopped listening after Chaos had spoken. If Pinch had gone to bed early, that meant he could too. He slid on to his bed, not even bothering to change his clothes. He put his head on to the wonderfully soft pillow and closed his eyes, wondering whether or not Artist would still be around tomorrow, part of him hoping that she would.


	3. Chapter 3 yeah, it's short, I know

A/N: Okay, sorry it takes so long for me to update, but like I said, I'm a slow writer. Not to mention that I have volleyball, dance class and school shopping to do as well, but still...

I have some questions for Shooter O'Brien. I just wanted to know if it would be alright if I made some changes in his personality. I know you put down he was loud and bold, but I was wondering if I could make him a little shyer. I will keep those traits, definitely, I just wanted to soften them to people he doesn't know very well. I would prefer it if you would leave a reply in the guestbook on my homepage (see profile), but the review section is fine if you can't get to my site.

And now, without further ado, Chapter 3!!!!

Daylight shone brightly through the windows as the newsies got ready for the day of work ahead. Crutchy yawned as he washed himself, splashing his face to wake himself up. He looked around at the other newsies. They all seemed to be as tired as he was, though Race did seem to look more cheerful than usual. He made his way through the washroom making wisecracks and jokes.

He stopped and sat on the edge of the sink where Crutchy was washing. "Artist is some goil, ain't she?"

Crutchy nodded, still not fully awake.

"She said she might stay fer a couple o' days, seein' as she didn't find her cousin'. She's stayin wit' da goils,now. Gonna do sellin' here fer a while."

That woke him up. "She's sellin' _here_?" Crutchy asked, partly because of surprise, and partly because he was anxious to see Pinch's reaction.

"Yeah," Racetrack said, with a hint of a smile playing around his face. "Why? Did you want her to stay?" he said, grinning at Crutchy, teasingly.

Crutchy blushed and walked back to his bed to get his cap.

The morning selling went well. Crutchy didn't have a selling partner, so it didn't go by as quick as some of the others' selling, but still, he did alright on his own. He had thought about asking Artist if she needed a partner, seeing as she didn't know the area to well, but she had gone off with one of the girls before he had a chance. He thought whether about asking her again tomorrow, but decided not to because she would probably already have one. Still thinking, he walked along to Tibby's.

He entered to find most of the newsies there already, laughing and talking. He sat down at a table with them, right between Mush and Pinch. Pinch, he noticed, was looking very disgruntled.

"What's wrong wit' you, Pinch?" he asked

Pinch scowled and answered, "Don't ask."

He looked around to see where Racetrack was sitting, thinking about what the other girls had said the previous night.

"Hey, where's Race?" he asked Mush, noticing his absence.

Mush shrugged, uncaringly. "Artist is missin' to. Who knows where they are?" And he returned to his food.

'Dey can't still be sellin' Crutchy thought to himself. 'Da headlines were pretty good. Maybe they went somewhere tagether and...' his thoughts trailed away as his stomach dropped. 'Don't be stupid,' he told himself. 'Race loves Pinch. He'd never do anythin' like dat to her. And Artist... she wouldn't do dat. Would she?' He ate, and his thoughts followed him out the door.

He didn't see Race or Artist the rest of the day, and when he go back to the Lodging House, they weren't there either. Crutchy figured that Race had taken Artist with him to the track that day, and wouldn't be back until late. He decided to ask Race about it tomorrow and changed his clothes, then went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, I thought of some other ways to stitch this story together and I decided to cut some parts, so it will be shorter than I planned. It'll make it easier to update and the chapters won't be too long.

The next few days went by as quickly as that one. Artist remained at the Lodging House and was even thinking about making it a permanent home, according to Race. Though Crutchy had seen very little of either of them since Artist turned up. He had tried to talk to Race about this but every time Crutchy started to turn toward the subject, he had been interrupted, either by the other newsies, or something else. He had been observing the pair of them and decided that Racetrack hadn't changed a bit. He hadn't seen much of Artist; she was always off with Chaos or Trolley or another one of the girls, but when he did see her she seemed to be the same as always. He knew he couldn't talk to her about it. She was a girl, which made it much more difficult and confusing. He decided just to keep watching Race, and to talk with him, at any possible time he could try.

He was waiting outside of the Lodging House. The cool night air brushed over him. He sat on one of the benches, waiting. And then, the sound he had been waiting for. Talking and laughing, Racetrack and Artist turned a corner.

His one worry confirmed, Crutchy drew breath and said, "Where've youse two been?"

Racetrack stopped dead. Artist looked up at Crutchy and stopped too, biting her lip.

"Where've ya been?" he asked again, standing up now.

Artist sent a furtive glance in Race's direction and said slowly, "We've been at the track. Race has been showin' me some... stuff."

Crutchy's stomach dropped again, for the third time in four days. "What kinda' stuff?" he asked, trying his best not to show how worried he was, and failing dismally.

"Nothin' Crutchy, don't worry about it." Race said quickly. "Cmon, I'll explain upstairs."

Artist's eyes widened when he said this and she began to open her mouth to protest, but then he gave her a reasurring nod, and she desisted.

"C'mon," he said, and Crutchy followed him upstairs while Artist went up to the girl's quarters.

Once they were upstairs, Racetrack closed the door, grabbed Crutchy's free arm (the other held his cructh), and dragged him into a stall in the washroom.

"What's goin' on Race?" he asked loudly.

Racetrack put his fingers to his lips and whispered, "Shhhhhh, not so loud. Geez, Crutchy, ya gonna wake the whole room."

Crutchy frowned.

"Look, it's really Artist's an' me's business, okay? I'd appreciate it if ya didn't go stickin' your nose in it all right?"

"Race-," he began.

Racetrack cut him off. "Just stay out of it all right, Crutchy? Please, trust me on this, okay?"

Crutchy nodded, still feeling somewhat skeptical.

__

_Travis O'Brien was a great kid. He was smart and funny, carefree, bold. You couldn't find anyone more honest or sweet. He was shy towards strangers, but to close friends he was loud and quite a troublemaker at times. He was never afraid to take risks, and he was always ready to prove himself. His mouth got him into to some deep trouble sometimes, but never as deep as the Cart Horse Dare._

_But this trouble was different then ordinary trouble, where you get yelled at a lot, or get punished or spanked. No, this was much worse. This was the trouble of becoming so angry at one's self that he or she may have fallen into great distress and depression. So great, that he or she might have even considered suicide. It is very different than ordinary trouble. In fact, there is one particular difference. In ordinary trouble, the only way of getting out of it determines your very own actions. But in this kind of trouble, the only way to get out is by the help of someone else._

A/N: Tell me what you think!!!! REVIEW!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Here it is! dun dun DUN: Chapter 5!!!!!!! Hope you like!

Race and Artist were not at Tibby's the next day. His feeling of foreboding intensified. He was worried about what he had seen the night before. '_Is Race really cheating on Pinch?'_ He thought. Well, there was no alternative, was there? He would simply have to accept the fact that he was. And it wasn't like any of this affected him. Not at all. He didn't need to worry about this.

But he did.

He worried about Race that way. He couldn't explain it, it just happened. Especially if whatever worried him didn't include him. He felt silly, worrying about him like this. He had tried not to, but he always ended up thinking about it.

He sat eating at one of the tables with Mush, Jack, Blink, and a few other newsies. He had almost finished his sandwich when, to his very great surprise, Pinch came over to the table and asked Crutchy quietly, so as none of the others would hear, "I need to talk to ya."

Crutchy nodded, somewhat surprised. She beckoned to him and he followed her into a corner.

"It's about Race an' Artist," she said in a low undertone. "They'se has been disappearin' lately. I guess ya noticed dat already."

Crutchy nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

"I'se been thinkin'," she said slowly. Race hasn't told me nothin' 'bout dis, so I'm gonna take matta's in ta my own hands."

"What'd ya talkin' about?" Crutchy asked.

"I'se gonna go spyin' on dem, stupid. I'm gonna find out where dere _really_ goin'. Dey ain't goin' ta no track, dat's fer sure."

"Pinch-,"Crutchy said reproachfully.

Pinch interrupted him. "Ya know it's true, Crutchy. You wanna know what dere doin' just as bad as me, don't ya?"

Crutchy blushed and said nothing.

"Dat's what I thought." She said. "Look, I'm goin' ta follow dem tomorrow an' I want you ta come wit' me. I wasn't gonna ask ya before cause of yer crutch an' all. I don't where dey's is goin'. It might be far, and we might lose 'em 'cause a' you. You might slow me down or get me caught or-,"

"I get it Pinch," Crutchy said coolly interrupting her line of reasons of why he would ruin her plan. Well, he'd show her. "I'll come. We'll go tomorrow. Dere's no morning edition on Sunday.

Pinch grinned. "Good. I'm ready to find out what they're up to."

Crutchy's insides lurched. He had not told anyone about what he had seen last night. He hoped Pinch wouldn't feel too heartbroken when she found out. He hated to do this to her, but he couldn't tell her. No, it would be better if she found it out for herself.

"_C'mon Travis!" shouted Elliot. It was a warm day. Children shouted and laughed as they played in the streets. Travis O'Brien and his best friend Elliot were heading over to the huddle of boys at the center of an ally way. They sat on the ground in a circle, playing marbles on the ground. Travis and Elliot ran over to them. _

"_How's it goin' South?" Travis asked a boy sitting on the edge of a chalk drawn circle._

"_Not so good," he said. I've lost three cat's eyes all ready."_

_Travis smirked as South flicked his marble towards a shiny, gray marble, but missed and his marble went right through the center of the chalk circle, stopping outside of it. "Gosh South, that was an easy one," he said._

"_Oh ya? Let's see if you play as well as you talk."_

_Travis bent down to the ground. He carefully put his fingers next to the marbles and shot one directly across from it. It hit the marble with a_ 'clinck' _and shot the other marble clearly out of the circle._

_Travis stood up smiling, apparently quite happy with himself._

"_We should start callin' him Shooter, the way he can play," said a scrawny black boy called Nix._

"_I like that," said South. "How about you, Shooter?"_

"_Sounds good to me," said Shooter, obviously pleased with his new nickname._

"_Shooter it is," said Elliot._

_And after a couple more rounds of marbles, the boys gathered there things and headed home for supper, Shooter the proudest, sporting his new nickname. _

A/N: Shout outs:

Shooter O'Brien: Sorry, I had to change his backround on the nickname. I tried to get the pool thing in, but marbles seemed close enough. I hope you don't mind.

Daydream: Glad you like my story. Thanks so much for reviewing. It's good to know I have people waiting in anxiety!!!!!

LadyRach: Thanks for reviewing! It's nice to hear your thoughts! I luv it!

Next chappie might not come as fast as the last 2, but it'll be up, don't worry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: Skylar belongs to Shooter O'Brien. However, I kinda brought her to life in this story. I didn't know whether Shooter wanted to keep Skylar her own or what, but I thought I'd put it down, just in case. It's up to you, Shooter.

_Travis burst in through his front door, smiling ear to ear. He walked into the kitchen, expecting to smell bread baking, as he did every night when he came home, but he didn't. "Momma?" he called. There was no response. "Momma?" he called again, louder this time. There was still no answer. Tonight was Papa's poker night, where he played cards with Uncle Joe, who usually brought his daughter, Katie. That meant there was supposed to be at least five people in the small house. Where were they all? _

_He headed up the stairs, looking for them. "Papa? Momma?" he continued to call for them. _

_Then he heard a muffled sob, coming from the room on the left. That was his room. He shared it with his twin sister, Skylar._

_He opened the door. There was no one there, but the sobbing continued. He went over to the closet and opened it. There sat Skylar, along with his cousin, Katie. Both of them sat their curled up, crying._

"_Skylar, Katie, wha-," he could barely speak from surprise. "What are you doing in the closet?"_

_Katie shook her head as tears rushed down her cheeks._

_Skylar, however, raised her head. "It was the police, Trav. They came t-to our house an' ch-checked it over s-so w-we hid from them." Her voice shook as she spoke._

"_Why were the police here?" Travis asked, slowly, knowing that could mean nothing good._

"_They h-heard the gun shots," said Katie, still sobbing._

"_What gunshots?" Travis asked, his mouth growing dry._

"_Papa was playing c-cards with Uncle J-Joe," wailed Skylar. "They were real d-drunk and they g-got into a huge f-fight and Papa pulled out his r-rifle and... Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe... Papa, he..." _

_Katie put her head into her hands as Skylar spoke._

_The realization of what his father had done hit Travis like a slap in the face. His next whisper was barely audible. "He killed Uncle Joe?"_

"_T-Then Momma," said Skylar, crying even harder now. "Then he-he s-saw w-what he'd d-done an-and he put a g-gun to hi-his head and he-he..."_

_Travis was no longer aware of anything else. He merely sat down onto the hard wood floor and put his head into his hands as his eyes filled with tears. _

_They all sat there, crying. Whether it was for ten minutes or thirty, Travis did not know. They simply sat there together, pouring out their grief to each other._

_After a while, Katie broke the silence. "Where will we go?" she asked. "Where will we live? The police will be after us, seeing as our parents are gone. They might put us in an orphanage."_

"_I'm not going to any orphanage," Travis said loudly, standing up. "I'm leaving. I'm not getting caught by the stupid policemen. I'm going. Now. And you're coming with me." He turned around and ran to his dresser drawer and began to throw clothes into a plastic bag. _

_The two girls began to put there own clothes in to the bag as well. Katie had none of her things, so she decided to share with Skylar. It would be easier that way. They packed lightly. Skylar went downstairs to get any food she could find and put that in a bag too. They were soon heading out the door with their few belongs on the backs. Quickly and carefully, they fled from Queens, heading towards a new town, where they began a new identity, and forget about all their problems._

Crutchy sat up as he heard the hiss in his ear. He turned around to see who was standing next to his bed, but it was still very early in the morning and it was to dark to see.

"What the-,"

"Shhhhhhhh! You'll wake to whole place if you don't shut it!" came a whisper from his right. It was Pinch.

"Pinch," he whispered, feeling quite annoyed. "It's too early, go back to the girls' dorm."

"Do you want to come with me or what?"

His eyes were adjusting to the dark now. He could see Pinch standing there stubbornly, looking at him.

"I'll be up in a minute," he said.

"Good," she whispered back. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

Crutchy washed and dressed. He was soon downstairs and they went outside so they could talk freely.

It was chilly outside. The brisk morning air hit their faces as they walked out.

"Look, we have ta do dis carefully if we wanna do it right," said Pinch in a business-like manner. "We gotta stay hidden and outa sight."

"Dat's da same thin-," Crutchy began to say, but Pinch cut him off.

"We gotta tail 'em close, but not too close," she continued as though there had been no interruption. "Ya got it?"

Crutchy nodded.

"Alright, alls we got ta do now is wait fer 'em to come out. We'd better hide behind the bushes dere."

And they did. They waited for nearly ten minutes, in silence, until finally, Race came out through the door, Artist close behind him. They were silent as they walked together, walking side by side. As soon as they turned the corner, Crutchy and Pinch took off, finally about to discover where the mysterious couple was going.

**A/N:** I hope you guys liked it. I'm getting into the more interesting part of the story now. Don't forget to tell me what you think... REVIEW!!!! (please).

**Shout Outs**:

Daydream: Glad to see your getting a kick out of Pinch. She plays the part perfectly, I must say. Keep in touch with your reviews! It's good to hear your opinion!

Shooter O'Brien: Ahhhh, I love to keep readers on their toes! It feels good to know you are excited about the next chapters! Keep reading!

LadyRach: It's so nice of you to review my stories!!!! I'm so glad people like them! I know you want to know about **Pinch's history**, so here it is (I am quoting this directly from Daydream's CC, just so you know):

"_Katy Price was forced into the mills at age 11 by her parents. Their family had far too many children for the elder ones not to work. Terrified of the noise and huge machinery, Katy tried to run away but the foreman caught her before she got too far. He gave her a beating like she'd never had before. She barely made it home that night. After a few more escape attempts over the next few months, Katy actually made it out. She struck straight for home. Her mother immediately threw her out saying that if she couldn't work for her family, than she couldn't be a part of it. Katy didn't know what to do. She knew she didn't want a job, but what else was there to do? She kept to herself the next few days, eating whatever she could find that didn't look putrid. Then she met up with Creeper, a young pick-pocket. Thinking she could be useful, he took her back to his gang. They taught her how to thief along with teamwork and strategy. They gave her the nickname Pinch after realizing how good her skills were."... "She stayed with them a few years. On one of their more daring attempts, the gang was trying to snitch from a jewelry shop when the police broke in and arrested the group. Pinch only escaped because Creeper shoved her out the door and told her to run. She's been on her own ever since."_

And, anyone one else who reviewed: Thank You SOOOO much!!! I love to hear people's thoughts! Keep reading!!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

_Travis woke up in the early morning hours. He sat up and looked around at the other girls, who were still sleeping. They had taken refuge behind some garbage cans in an ally the night before. They looked so peaceful. He looked down at his twin sister. He had not seen Skylar look so carefree since before they ran away. It had been nearly seven months since the night they had all packed their belongings and fled from the city. _

_They had become used to the city streets now, easily blending in. They had all found ways of making money. Not much, but enough to get them food. Katie, who had always been good at drawing, sold some of her drawings to passers-by. Most only sold for a penny or two, but some of really excellent ones were bought by newspapers, used as cartoons for ads and one even made as a trademark! She sold them well, too. Skylar had been helping Katie, selling and by finding extra paper she found in trash bins. She had a good eye, and found them many things; extra food from restaurants, sacks to carry their things (their old bags had all ripped a long time ago), old clothes, seeing as the weather was getting colder, she and Skylar mended themselves, and even a small, worn-out, cotton, blue blanket. They all slept on it, though it was a tight squeeze. Still, it was better than nothing. The weather was colder now, and it was very chilly at night. _

_Travis didn't really have a specific thing to do. He found odd jobs in shops, cleaning and such. He entered this day looking for a new one. _

"_Where are you going look?" asked Skylar, once both girls had woken up and put on some of the extra clothes over their own. _

_Travis shrugged. "Maybe in one of the grocery shops. I could clean windows or something."_

_Skylar nodded. "That sounds okay. Just be careful, alright?"_

_Travis rolled his eyes and nodded. Skylar always looked out for him, even though he was older by nine minutes. He pretended to think it was silly, but underneath, he kind of liked it. He couldn't really explain it. Maybe it was a twin thing._

_He walked out into the dirty street, shivering. Snow fell slowly and softly onto the ground. He coughed and rubbed his hands together. He hated winter. He hated the freezing wind that pushed against his face in the nipping morning air. He hated getting colds or having you're fingers taken two minutes out of gloves and get so frozen, they turn numb. He just hated it._

_He walked around the shops, looking for, and failing to find, any odd jobs. He stopped. He had been outside for nearly two hours and was chilled to the bone. He looked around for the nearest shelter and found a pool hall nearby. He ducked inside._

_It was crowded and smoky inside. It was warm, too, but he continued to shiver feverishly. He watched as men shot their sticks into the balls, trying to get them into the holes. 'It's kind of like marbles,' he thought as he observed them._

_It looked so fun, so simple. He thought he might want to even give it a try._

_At that moment, he saw a man hand over a wad of bills to the winner of the game that had just finished. His heart leaped. Of course, people make bets on these games. He do this easily. He could probably make money of it too. That would help them a lot. They could certainly use the money. He wanted to start right away, play a game and see how he did, maybe even make a couple of bucks. But that was rash. He knew he should check with the other two before he did anything._

_He quickly ran out the door and back on to the cold street. It was snowing harder now, but Travis took no mind. He rushed around the corner and into the ally they were staying in. _

"_Sky, Kate, you'll never believe what I just-,"_

_Katie jumped up the moment she saw him. Her face was white and afraid. "Travis!" Her voice was breathless with anxiousness. "It's Skylar! She's in a horrid state. I don't know what to do! She got caught trying to steal some food of a cart. The guy beat her up real bad. She's all bloody and bruised. I did what I could, but I don't know what else to do!"_

_Travis ran to the blanket where they all slept at night. Skylar was lying on the ground curled up in the small blanket, shivering feverishly. She was indeed very bloody and appeared to be bruised all over. Her breathing was slow and jerky. He bent to her side and stroked her forehead. She was burning hot and sweating all over. _

"_Oh, Sky," he moaned. Her face was so pale. "You'll be okay Sky, I promise." He told her. "Everything's gonna be fine, don't worry."_

"_Trav," she said weakly._

"_I'm right here, sis," he said._

"_Trav, I'm not gonna make it." _

_He grabbed her hand. It was as cold as marble. "You'll be fine," he said, tears welling up in his eyes now._

"_Trav, I can't."_

"_Yes, you are!" he cried desperately._

"_I love you so much Trav," she said in a hoarse whisper. "You did so good. Look after Katie, okay?"_

"_No, Sky, no! You're going to pull through it! You're gonna be okay!" Tears splashed down his front as he took of his coat and put it on top of his sister, trying to keep her warm. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand._

"_Be careful, Trav." She smiled feebly and her eyes closed and her hand dropped from his._

"_No, Sky, NO!" He hugged her body tightly in his arms and cried and cried and cried as snow continued to fall, until he eventually sobbed himself to sleep._

Crutchy followed Pinch for most of the walk, letting her do the dirty work, tailing Race and Artist, making sure they would not catch them. He was already tired but would rather die than admit it. They had been walking for a while and Crutchy wasn't sure how long he could go.

Suddenly, Pinch stopped dead and Crutchy, not watching where he was going, walked right into her.

"Geez, sorry Pinch, wasn' watchin' where I was goin'."

"Shut up Crutchy! They'll here you!" she hissed at him.

"Sorry," he whispered. He looked carefully around the corner. Race and Artist were both walking towards the racetrack. "See?" he said to Pinch. "There just goin' ta da track tagether."

Pinch gave him a glare sharper than a needle point.

Crutchy decided to stop talking after that.

"Let's go," said Pinch, once they had entered the track. "We don't want to lose them in a crowd."

So they headed into the track, both becoming more curious and anxious by the second.

A/N: Ok, it was a little dramatic, but hey, i was totallly bawling when I wrote it. (Don't laugh, I am very attached to my charecters) Please REVIEW!

p.s. Shooter O'Brien- That's it with Skylar. Do you want to own her or not? I will gladly take her if no, but it is great if you say yes too.


End file.
